Automatic oil consumption monitoring is desirable for aircraft engines so that the status of oil consumption before, during and after an aircraft flight can be monitored. Traditionally, oil consumption by aircraft engines has been monitored using an Oil Level Sensor (OLS) to estimate the level of oil remaining in the oil tank. This method of monitoring oil consumption is problematic because, during an aircraft flight, the oil level inside of the oil tank can vary significantly due to changes in acceleration and orientation of the aircraft. Thus, simply monitoring the oil level in the oil tank may not be an accurate measurement of oil consumption by the aircraft engine. In some cases, inaccurate measurement of oil consumption and oil level can result in a false alarm to a pilot or maintenance person by incorrectly indicating an oil leak during a flight, resulting in an unnecessary abort of the mission.
Therefore, there is a need for a more accurate method to estimate the amount of oil in the oil tank of an aircraft while in the air, and thereby more accurately determine the oil consumption of the aircraft engine.